Space tech start-ups raise record funding amid billionaire hype

Billionaire space entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and Elon Musk have raised the public profile and plausibility of commercial space travel in recent years. The hype has helped fuel a wave of funding into startups building the infrastructure to bring the new space race from science fiction to reality.
 

Space-related technology is a $200 billion market that spans companies building products and services to use on Earth, in orbit or for space exploration and colonization missions. Venture capital investment in such firms reached a record $5.5 billion in 2020, according to market research firm PitchBook. The industry is on